In fact it is a skill like any other. Sure, there are people that naturally and easily see a stride. But, just as with any other sport, for those of us lesser mortals, practice and understanding the process is what we need in order to master the skill.
There are certain basic simple steps which, if followed, will develop this skill. I recommend that all practice and exercises be done over very small jumps so that you can concentrate on the techniques, and develop your skill without the added difficulty of a large jump to detract from your concentration. Small jumps also have the added benefit of saving your horses legs from the strain and concussion of jumping big jumps while you are trying to learn a skill.
The average distance of a horse’s stride is 4m. When calculating the strides between jumps you must allow 2m for landing and 2m for takeoff. So for example a distance of 20m between related jumps would result in 4 non-jumping strides.
STEP 1 – LOOK AT THE JUMP!
Sounds silly – but you will be amazed how many people don’t really look at the jump they are supposedly planning to go over until about two or three strides out. What they also tend to do is glance nervously at the jump, look away, glance back, look away again, and continue in this manner until they reach the jump, usually by now in totally the wrong stride.
It is also important to know what part of the jump to look at. The top front rail is where you need to focus. If you look at the base of the jump you will tend to get yourself too deep, and if you look at the back of the jump, in the case of an oxer, you will false yourself, as the takeoff point will then appear to be much further away from you than it really is. Select a place in the centre of the front rail and keep your focus on that point until you are two strides out from the jump. At two strides away it is too late to make any adjustments. In order to train your eye, and develop this habit, a good exercise is to tie a piece of cloth onto the pole and use this as your focal point.
If you can get a friend to help you, ask them to watch you and see where you are focusing during your approach to the jump. If you get them to “Beep” every time you look away from the jump you will probably be amazed at how often you do look away.
It is important to start looking at the jump early. If you do this you will find that you feel less rushed and flustered. There is time to make any adjustments needed to your rhythm.
STEP 2 – APPROACH THE JUMP IN A STRAIGHT LINE
This is extremely important. If you cut your corner, or overshoot the line and angle back to the jump, it will throw you off stride. Angling the jump to save time in a jump-off is a different issue, and once you have learnt to consistently see your stride, and have a good approach, then you will be ready to do this. But, until then, learn to approach the jump in a straight line.
The most common error is cutting the corner. When you cut the corner not only do you approach the jump at an angle, but you also shorten the distance of your approach, giving yourself less time to see the stride and make adjustments. A helpful exercise to train you to approach the jump correctly is to place two cones about three strides away from the jump. Riding between the cones will force you to approach the jump correctly. Don’t let your eye wander to the cones however! Keep focused on the jump.
In order to further increase your accuracy, you may place cones after the jump as well, in order to practice maintaining straightness after landing. Oddly enough, this makes the exercise much more demanding! I recommend that you only add the cones behind the jump after you have practiced the approach with the cones in front of the jump, and are feeling smooth and confident.
Consistent practice using the exercise will pay off, as you will start seeing the correct approach effortlessly. Anything can be used as a marker – my husband was giving me a lesson the other day, and he put his hat (not a riding helmet, a soft hat) and made me ride over it to the jump in order to correct my approach. It worked, although I have to say that at first I found it a bit disconcerting to ride over a hat. Another important point this raises – don’t let silly small stuff distract you. Usually we are far more bothered by this sort of thing than our horses are.
STEP 3 LEARN TO KEEP A RHYTHM
Maintaining a steady rhythm is vital for seeing a stride. If you constantly speed up and slow down and change rhythm it is almost impossible to judge your distance from the jump in terms of strides, as your length of stride keeps changing. An excellent exercise for establishing rhythm in the approach to a fence is to set up a series of canter poles on the approach to the fence. The poles will serve to establish the rhythm, and you can just sit and leave the horse to work it out. You will probably be amazed by how forward going the rhythm becomes with the use of the poles. We are all far more inclined to get too slow than too fast.
A very common error is to slow down too much around the corner, and then end up lengthening and flattening into the jump as the horse is lacking impulsion and is too much on his forehand.
There are numerous flat work exercises which assist in establishing balance and rhythm which are detailed in my Schooling for Jumping chapters.
Another very good exercise for establishing rhythm is to set up 4 jumps in a circle. Mark the centre point with a cone, or a hat or any suitable object. From the centre point measure 10 or 15 m and then lay 4 poles in each direction as per the diagram (the smaller the diameter of the circle, the more difficult the exercise becomes.)
Starting with poles on the ground, trot over a pole to start and then establish canter. Canter over the poles in a circle. Count the strides between each pole. You will probably find that at first the number of strides varies considerably. Try to always meet each pole in the centre. You should aim to have exactly the same number of strides between each pole, and the same length of stride for every stride. If you feel as though you are all over the place and off balance, don’t let it bother you. This is a great exercise for establishing balance and rhythm and with practice it will improve. Don’t do too many circles at a time. Two or three should be enough – then change the rein. Remember that at first it is difficult for your horse.
When you are smooth and confident over poles on the ground, then you can raise the poles to make small jumps. Again I want to emphasise not to do too much. With horses it is always better to stop too soon than not to stop in time.
No comments:
Post a Comment